September 2018

Between now and Sept. 22, more than a dozen USATF events are set for USATF associations in North and South Carolina. Given the flooding and other damage expected from Hurricane Florence, I wouldn’t count on any of them takng place. Races include a bunch of 5Ks and associated fun runs in Mebane, Cary, Raleigh, Pittsboro and Charlotte — site of 2006 outdoor masters nationals. More important than any road race are the lives of our athletes, so I hope as many as possible have cleared out and aren’t caught in the growing power outage (156,000 customers at 9 p.m. Thursday…

Canada gets a double dose of major masters action starting soon — hosting the 2020 WMA world outdoor meet in Toronto and the 2021 world indoor meet in Edmonton, Alberta. It’ll be only the second indoor worlds in North America since Kamloops in 2010. See meet site here. Edmonton was chosen at Saturday’s General Assembly in Malaga. I was busy covering some guy named Obama and overlooked the news. Also revealed: 2022 outdoor worlds will be in Gothenburg, Sweden — site of the second world WAVA meet in 1977. (Since Toronto was the first worlds in 1975, the pattern would…

Liam Byrne took fourth in Heat 5 of the M40 800 prelims Sunday at Malaga, but he quickly became the focus of world media when he displayed his flag after the race. The flag of Gibraltar. In the results, he’s listed as representing “WMA.” Media reports say he was forced to run as a “neutral” athlete. His time of 2:03.49 (see results here) means he’ll likely have a hard time making the final. (Top qualifier was 1:58.08 by Kenya’s Isaac Kiberenge.) But he’s apparently the only Gibraltar athlete (of five originally entered) still competing in Malaga. Would love to see…

Margit Jungmann of Germany, a former high school teacher and coach, schooled her competition Saturday and easily won election to the presidency of World Masters Athletics, becoming the first woman in that role in the body’s 43-year history. Margit won 110 votes — ahead of American Gary Snyder’s 12 and Finland’s Vesa Lappalainen with 19. (Corrected vote from original post.) The former WMA Vice President succeeds Australia’s Stan Perkins, who must be envious (since he won his first election by one vote, albeit under fraudulent circumstances.) The German masters website says she had given up her position as chairperson of…

M55 hurdler Kerry Sloan, a masters superstar for decades, will not compete at Malaga in the 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, high jump or be eligible for the relays. He’s in a Texas or Tulsa jail, facing charges of first-degree rape. According to media reports, Kerry was arrested at an Austin, Texas, airport Sunday by Customs and Border Protection officers, along with officers from the Austin Police Department, before he could depart on a plane to London — on the way to worlds. Here’s how local media are covering this matter: TULSA, Oklahoma — A Texas man is in jail awaiting…

Malaga’s results service is impressive. It’s easy to navigate and lists most everything. But why no references to world records? W80 British thrower Evaun Williams put the shot 10.07 meters (33-0 1/2) on her first try Tuesday to smash the listed WR of 9.66 (31-8 1/2) by Germany’s Anne Chatrine Rühlow in 2017, for example. (The main WMA site has a running account of Malaga WRs. The others are W75 shot by Austria’s Marianne Maier (12.12/39-9 1/4), displacing an Evaun mark, and M70 5000 walk by Britain’s Ian Richards in 25:51.34.) An event I’m looking forward to is the M35…

Don’t tell David Pain about this. He’ll flash on his time fighting to get South Africans into 1975 Toronto worlds. This time, at least, a host country isn’t excluding a national contingent. Gibraltar has one of the smallest teams at Malaga worlds, but its treatment is making the biggest stink. The British territory’s M40 Liam Byrne (400/800), M40 Charles Savignon (10K/half-marathon), W45 Allison Edwards (10K/half-marathon), M45 Maurice Turnock (5000) and M65 Horace Bossano (10K) may not be medal favorites. But they have become pawns in some crazy Spanish politics. Media outlets, IAAF bigwig Seb Coe and others are calling out…

Malaga worlds begins in a few hours, starting with the W50 hammer. Start lists are up, with results expected early Tuesday. (Malaga is six hours ahead of East Coast time, nine ahead of Left Coast.) Opening ceremonies pictures are flooding Facebook, and I’m reminded of a great breakdown of entry stats by Dmitry Babenko. His engrossing spreadsheet of the 5,503 men entered and 2,694 women is already out of date, though. Canada’s great W80 multi-eventer Christa Bortignon writes: “I had to cancel Malaga because my husband’s hip problem turned out to be very serious. After several weeks in serious pain…

Last December, I reported that two bids were received for the 2020 outdoor masters nationals – one from Greensboro, North Carolina, and the other from the Niagara Association in upstate New York. “However, because of questions about the facilities in Greensboro and the lack of detail in the Niagara Association bid (and the fact that site visits had not been conducted prior to the Annual Meeting in either Greensboro or Brockport), the [MTF] committee decided to postpone the decision,” said a report. Now we know the verdict: Greenboro. Fidel B’s keen eye spotted the dates in a recent USATF email…

Masters on Twitter

Athletes who are not on the top six in the World list of those eligible for performance-based support from the Team USATF Torun World #1 Program can earn support by competing at... https://t.co/de3yt9kO0I

Sign up for the USATF East Region and New England Association Masters Indoor T&F Championship being held 1/27/19 at the Providence Career and Technical Academy
Providence, Rhode Island https://t.co/MK1fO5l1XP

Job Alert! Be a Volunteer and Welcome the World ! The @wmaToronto2020 Host Committee is looking for many key volunteer leadership positions now, interested ? Check out the WMA website for info; https://t.co/RD9oye67YK #TorontoComms @TOSportsCouncil @TorontoPFR #CSCOJobList

Grateful to the Catton family for trusting me to tell their story.
Members of Guelph's running community spent today celebrating 3-year-old Benjamin Catton who's spent so much of his life in hospital. A few weeks ago, he received a kidney from his father. https://t.co/bJPDf5Ux0C

It's coming #OCC19 is now open! Join in Ontario's premier sport leadership event impacting 2.2 million youth in our province. Register by December 31 to save up to $70 off! Education is a journey, not a destination. Continue your journey at #OCC19 https://t.co/MB2ParmKY6

A meeting to discuss theOMA/AO Memorandum of Understanding will be held on Wednesday, November 21, 2018, 6:30pm at the offices of Athletics Ontario. Variety Village 370 Danforth Avenue, ScarboroughOMA Board members will be present, and all OMA members are welcome to attend.

Its Indoor Masters Exhibition Time of Year!! We are looking for Men and Women 60+ Qualifying times are 8.40 60M or lower for men and 11.30 60M or lower for Women! The event is at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island NY.
Application Link is OPEN!!... https://t.co/bqEf7YckIH

Hi T & F fam, we are sharing stories and calls for help by Masters Athletes affected by the fires in California. If you know of others with support campaigns please post here or send us a message. #mastersathletes... https://t.co/T8Sa2Niyji